Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendrick Varela.
Hi Kendrick, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story is something that I think about frequently. I was born in Georgia but lived briefly in Mexico and a few other states. I always believed I stood out— but not in the way that an athlete would because he outran everyone during PE. I wasn’t academically smart, either. I could not just read a book and then write a paper that blew your mind. No, I was the student that would stand up in class while everyone was sitting down, and the teacher would ask, “why are you standing?” To which, I would always reply, “I don’t know. Just didn’t feel like sitting anymore”. Growing up and finishing school, I had absolutely no plan on what I wanted to do. I had no real idea what I wanted to do with my life. My parents wanted me to study for something along the lines of a lawyer, an engineer, an architect (all things that I cared nothing about and didn’t have the grades to do). Something I never picked up on was that I always told stories, I always took pictures here and there, and I would record random things. I always liked it— fascinated by it all.
I know there was a point in my high school career that I thought about film because I had requested information from the New York Film Academy. I remember thinking of filmmaking being only possible in Hollywood, which was thousands of miles away and felt impossible to me. I can’t remember the exact date, all I can remember is that it was mid-July. I worked as an HVAC system installer. Not a bad job by any means. It was physically demanding, and the crew that I worked with worked VERY hard. I was this 21-22-year-old kid, really, that had no idea what he was doing, but at the time, I really needed the money because it paid well during a time my family was in a very difficult financial spot. There was one day in particular that I was working on something over my head, applying this glue-like material that helped seal the vents: the glue would, at times, fall down, my hands were bleeding from dealing with sheet metal, and I was sweating (because it’s mid-July in Georgia). And to be honest, I was crying. Not like sobbing or anything, but rather teared up because I hated the place I was in. I felt very unaccomplished, I had zero direction in my life, and every day was a repeat of the last. I was working 15+hour days at times.
Waking up at 5 am and going to sleep at midnight or 1 am and doing that over and over until I would call in, saying, “yeah, I’m not coming in because I need to sleep.” Well, the day I teared up a bit, I told myself, “If I can do this for someone else and endure all this, then I can pursue what I truly want for myself.” By this time, I had realized that I wanted to tell stories. Cinema had become the only outlet that made sense to me, and from that moment, I worked at learning how to do it. I didn’t have any friends in the industry at the time. I didn’t know of any programs that I could take, and I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do. I just knew that I wanted to make movies. First thing I looked into was creating a screenplay and writing. After that, I started editing any and all footage I got from playing video games. I made a Youtube channel that I shared with my friends showing clips of me and my friends playing. My film camera had broken, and I knew that I needed a video camera next, so I bought a refurbished Nikon D5200 and spent time trying to figure out how to take photos. I recorded everything and anything that I could. At this point in life, I got a better job. I needed to buy a house, so that became a priority. I worked and studied, then would spend complete Sundays watching tutorials on how to edit.
During the week, I would capture footage and pictures of whatever, edit them on that Sunday, and by Sunday night, I would delete it all because I thought it was garbage. One of the things that bothered me the most was watching Youtube videos and seeing people film and edit in a way that my videos looked nothing like. Even today, I watch my own videos and notice they are not like popular channels on that platform. It took me a long time to understand that just because my videos are not like those doesn’t mean they are bad. They are mine. Over the past few years, I have come to the conclusion of what I want to do. I have been the director of photography for six short films (and while I love doing that), I know my heart is telling me that I want to direct. Everything that I have done am doing, and will be doing is all in the pursuit of me directing. It took me a long time to get there and understand that— but I know it’s what I’m meant to do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Truthfully, my biggest obstacles have been myself. I got in my own way of believing that I could achieve anything because I lacked certain resources— that I didn’t start early enough. Over time, I realized that if I gave it my everything and committed to doing my best then I could achieve what I truly wanted to do. When I shot my first short film, Pretty Dead Things, I practically had a panic attack while driving to set. I knew that every image, every frame, and every second recorded was on me. That pressure seemed like too much for me, but I knew that I just had to trust in myself and my team and do it, because I would grow as an individual. From that one short, five more short films came along, which all helped guide me to understanding what it is that I want to do in Cinema.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I can’t rattle off a list of achievements that I have achieved yet. My journey into filmmaking is still very new but what I have been able to enjoy is the stories of the people I have met. The families I have been able to meet. The places that I have been able to visit. From these experiences, I have learned the elements in the stories that I want to tell and that to me is a beautiful thing to have. I know as I continue working and creating, I will hone that skill in. It’s just a matter of time and more work and thankfully, I really enjoy the process! I used to believe that I didn’t stand out, that the stories I wanted to tell wouldn’t be any different from other people until I listened to a Masterclass by Issa Rae. In her MasterClass, she stated that you are the one most uniquely qualified to tell your stories. To tell them the way you want. I thought that was a beautiful thing and extremely empowering.
What does success mean to you?
A long time ago, a friend told me, “whatever you do, keep chasing the bouncing ball.” I was like 15 at the time and just wrote it off as some nonsense that didn’t really make sense. Ten years later and I know what he meant by that. It’s not that success is something you achieve like a destination but rather something that as you grow, it grows with you. I believe in goal setting and using smaller goals and milestones to achieve larger ambitions. When larger ones are met, I take a moment and re-evaluate for the next goal. One of my all-time favorite quotes is, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”- Michelangelo
Contact Info:
- Email: kendrickvarela1@gmail.com
- Website: www.kendrickvarela.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendrickvarela_/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kenny13200/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qveAt2IHzJYJVCxOb5fMw
Image Credits
WIld Hunt Media Danny Delgado
